Our trip was for our 5th anniversary. So hit play and listen to this song. It was sung at our wedding. It can be the soundtrack for this post about our trip.
I filled in a lot of things from my phone in previous blog posts. I also haven't gotten the pictures off the camera yet. Why? I don't know. Probably because we haven't unpacked the camera.
So our trip started insanely early Thursday morning. We left the house at 4am. Check in and security weren't that bad. We had everything organized and bagged properly so we could take out items that they had to inspect easily. We did have to fold down each stroller and put them on the conveyor and all that so it wasn't exactly easy. I didn't wear a belt and I wore flip flops intentionally so I could just step right out of my shoes. There also wasn't much of a line so we didn't feel too much pressure. I should just say that in situations like this, Justin and I mostly work well together. He gets all flustered and tense because he hates crowds, our children acting crazy, and all together being out of control of the situation, which nothing about airport security says control. I generally don't care too much and am like what? what are you going to do? haven't you ever seen people go through security before? So my job is generally to just read the signs and direct calmly so Justin can just follow and work on controlling his rage that all the swarming people are causing.
So we get in line to board the plane. We have to fold down the strollers again. So we have the carry ons strapped to us (backpacks and whatnot) and are each carrying a child and dragging a stroller. I take about ten people out with the junk in the trunk, since the aisles are so wide. Either way, we get all settled. Ava thinks take off is cool. Rhys falls asleep, Ava falls asleep, and the ride was peaceful. When Ava wakes up she just listens to music with her headphones. Rhys wakes up and is all smiley. We actually get compliments when we land about how well behaved our kids are. The strollers take forever to be brought to us so we have about 20 minutes before we board the next plane and it is on the other side of the airport. (LAX) So we pretty much just run. Rhys needs his diaper changed but we don't have time. Our second plane is a tiny little plane that we have to go outside to board. Ava walks super slow because she is unsure of the whole situation. Justin is carrying both strollers and I have Rhys and all of the carry ons. We must have looked like crazy people. Rhys is soggy and is kind of leaking on me for the 2nd flight but we aren't in the air long enough to ever get up. Ava sleeps again and all in all besides getting on and off the plane which always sucks, it is a good trip. We have an insanely long wait at the car rental place and Rhys gets a sunburn on his head. Justin's about poops when he sees that we have a 2009 Charger to drive around for the week. We get to the hotel and it is lovely. We get all situated and realize we have been upgraded even more to a better room than originally planned and have a balcony and a great view. Ava and I go swimming. We order room service and are done for the day.
When we get up and all dressed, we go to the Einstein Bagels that is on the deck to Mission Bay by our hotel. Have good food and coffee, and then head out to Sea World, which was really 10 minutes away from our hotel. Ava liked it and asked to touch the dolphins. We had a great time especially since the park isn't that crowded. It was cool enough to wear a sweatshirt most of the time, but we still both managed to get some sun. Ava ends up being afraid of all the dark exhibits, so that kind of sucked.
Second day was my favorite I think. We just drove out to La Jolla and walked around. It was just relaxing and beautiful. See previous post.
Third day was the Wild Animal Park, kind of lame. Cool I guess, but not really worth a day on the trip. Maybe it would have been better on a Tuesday or something when it isn't so crowded. It is a pretty cool situation though. We then went to a little beach by our hotel. It was a cool day but the water was definitely warm enough to walk through the water. Ava walked around after getting scared. She had fun chucking sand into the water. Nobody was around so I didn't care at all that she was throwing sand.
Like the different writing styles? I have been writing this post over the course of a week.
We went to Old Town for the morning before we went home. It was ok, but not very exciting. I think we were just watching the clock for the time to leave. We went to the little beach again when the two kids had fallen asleep in the car. I got to read a book "on the beach" when we parked and opened the car windows while they napped. I could at least feel the breeze.
The flight home was a little rough. Ava was very fidgety and whiny for the first half and had a total meltdown during the lay over. She slept the entire second flight. We should never fly in the evening. Rhys did fine and slept pretty much the entire time.
Favorite things about the trip:
Ava singing on the balcony.
Cuddling with Ava and Rhys on the balcony, wrapped in a blanket, while Justin was still sleeping. We just watched the water.
Rhys swimming for the first time.
Rhys peeing down the leg of his pants onto my crotch so it looked like I was the one who peed. (not really a favorite thing, but funny)
Rhys yelling on the animal tour until Ava would look at him.
Rhys laughing at the wind in his face on the wild animal tour.
Ava wanting to watch turtles that didn't move for like 15 minutes.
Feeding the seals.
Eating room service on the floor of the hotel room.
Ava eating a sea shell after thinking it was candy and then Justin telling her to stop whining and to swallow it. He thought it was candy too.
Watching the sea lions swim in the ocean on La Jolla beach.
Rhys and Ava getting to put their feet in the sand and the ocean for the first time.
Watching Ava look for shells with Justin.
Watching Ava's little chicken legs walk along the beach.
Ava asking me if I wanted to go see the gorilla hands with her. We had already seen it but I wasn't holding her at the time, so in her mind I didn't see it.
The tide pools in La Jolla.
The guacamole at that Cocina place where we had dinner.
Ava and Rhys in matching swim suits.
I am sure there are a lot more favorite moments, but they just won't get listed in the blog post about vacation.
I think people can get bogged down in the hassle and little details about traveling with kids. Like the inconvenience makes it not worth the hassle. It was a little difficult for about 10 minutes of each flight, getting through security and stuff like that. Other than that, all good stuff. Totally worth it to just have days to spend together, experience things together, and get away from all the business and distractions of every day life. No chores, no bills, no obligations. Just family time.
